Chat should actually be renamed to something a little more appealing, don’t you think? It just sounds so small, useless, and insignificant. But on the contrary, chat is really a valuable feature to have and offer on your site or blog.

If you’re already sitting there at your computer anyway, why not have the lights on and the door open? I mean who wouldn’t want a potential client or referral visitor to have access to you, or you to them?

Here are some really cool chat sites and tools you can use to strike up a live and real-time conversation with those visiting your websites and blogs. Heck, isn’t that what you’re hoping for and why you created them to begin with? Go figure.

Zopim is very rich in features: See who is on your site/blog in real-time. See what page they are looking at and what browser they are using. See where they are located around the world and what they are interested in on your site. Create simple and quick reply responses and inquiries. See how long they’ve been on your site and how many times they’ve returned and much more. All this before you’ve even struck up a live conversation or “Chat” with them.

Another great chat site and tool that’s in Beta right now is ZoHo Chat

ZOHO Chat has everybody talking (no pun intended) Embed a shout-box so visitors a=can chat amongst themselves. Communicate with visitors and get their live feedback. Create chat groups based on criteria you select and setup. Works over multiple IM platforms like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, MySpace and more. Many great features you and your visitors will find useful.

LiveChatInc was created and designed with one purpose in mind: “Talk to your website/blog visitors and turn them into customers!” Now you may be thinking that once you’ve seen one Chat app or software, you’ve seen them all. Not the case here. PCWorld, TechCrunch, Mashable, and Business Insider have all shared their opinions, and companies like Adobe, Salomon, and the Better Business Bureau have all given their on-site testimonials. Check out their Live-Chat Customer Happiness Report.

There is a FREE lite version and then there’s always a paid option. Online Chat Center has been providing live chat support to over 16,000 websites since 2005. When it comes to connecting business owners with their website visitors in a real time chat, OCC chat support software is a proven leader of premier software’s for live support.

Snap Engage is a bit more pricey, but then understandably so with some of the costly features that are included in some of their plans. A real-time dashboard, and International translation tools. Customizable mobile chat on the go. Transfer chats and integrate with your favorite CRM (client relations manager) Get reports, unlimited sites, multi-widgets and more.

It makes sense to have a good and reliable chat and communication tool in place on your site.

You don’t want to miss those prospects and opportunities with those visiting your site. Real-time is Real-good. Helping answer questions, assisting visitors with your site’s navigation, or just reaching out to offer a helping hand are all justifiable reasons to consider opening up your site’s to those who may just want to chat with you first before hiring you and your company, or before purchasing your products and online services. Want to chat about it? I’m here…

Comments (3)

Piper

Thanks for sharing! Live chat is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the best customer service tools available at the moment. I use Visitlead instead of the ones mentioned above. Very recommendable too!

Shane Feng

Thanks for sharing! We at Allora.io tried Zopim but finally chose Chatra live chat. Chatra has great interface (it looks like mobile messenger with animations etc) and has the best agent’s dashboard I’ve ever seen. My point is – Chatra is the best solution for small teams and Zopim is better for big companies.